At £200 consumers are getting a healthy supply of contemporary features and high-end components for their cash. Although the SZ-20 may not offer everything in Olympus' technology library, what is does offer is a great deal of control and choice for creative novices at a good price. Although this may not suit a complete beginner it will definitely impress existing compact-owners looking to upgrade to a camera that provides an up-to-date feature set, larger pixel count, lengthier focal range and the ability to record impressive image results and full HD video.

We liked

The SZ-20 is an accessible camera that delivers exactly what an enthusiast photographer needs with a handful of exciting attributes thrown in, including: full HD video capture, eight creative filters, Smart Panorama and 3D mode.

We disliked

The camera fails to present detailed definition in several of the filter and special modes, which can make composition tricky. Elsewhere we were disappointed by the battery performance and high-speed continuous shooting results.

Enhanced performance beyond the still image. Like every SZ Series compact, the SZ-20 is packed with Olympus technology that's seriously state-of-the-art, like the backlit CMOS sensor for low-noise shots in poor light and an impressive 12.5x super wide optical zoom. With 1080p Full HD Movie recording and 16 Megapixels, it's the must-have model for anyone who wants to live and shoot 24/7 - in perfect, pixel-rich quality, no compromises required. What's more the SZ-20 features a whole raft of innovations - from Smart Panorama, 3D still photo shooting, Eye-Fi card compatibility for automatic wireless uploading of images to a website or PC to a choice of eight Magic Filters, seven of which work with both Full HD movies and stills. For a camera in this category, that's yet another unique feature.